Level Five Leadership

Level Five Leadership

Section 1

Concept of Level 5 Leadership

In his book "Good to Great", Jim Collins states that only 11 companies in history have changed from being good to being great. All of these companies fortunately had level five leaders. Level 5 leadership is based on the idea that respect for others, selflessness by the leader and a strong commitment to achieving results lead to the best employees. Level 5 leaders are paradoxical combination of forceful will and personal restraint. They are resistant and ruthless. However, they are modest. They are ambitious for their company, and rarely allow their ego to become an obstacle to the success of the organization. Although they make a significant contribution to their organization, they attribute these outstanding achievements to the employees.

Differences with other leadership styles

The major differences between a level five leader and other leadership styles are (Collins, 2001):

A search for sustainable results: the difference between a Level 5 leader and other leaders is that they are motivated to produce sustainable results for their organization. The idea is that Level 5 leaders can make a difference long term and sustainable.

A choice of successors: Level 5 leaders are more interested in the success of the organization their personal achievements. They want to leave his legacy in an organization that continues to grow. They have enough self confidence to hire competent people (top right people to the group).

Modesty: They show sincere humility. They act with determination, and inspirational standards are supported, not inspiring charisma to motivate as compared to the transformational leaders.

Assume responsibility: They take responsibility when things go wrong and do not cast blame when things do not work as expected. In addition, they rarely seek recognition for the things that go wrong; they prefer to attribute the success to other factors.

An organizational focus: The ultimate ambition of the Level 5 leader is first and foremost, to the organization. Their desire for a successful organization outweighs their search for personal rewards.

Importance

At the head of all the successful companies that have achieved outstanding results during the implementation of the reforms, a level five leader is present. Thus, the concept of "Level 5 leaders" is at odds with conventional wisdom that for change in the enterprises we desperately need "saviors", and recognized leaders with high self-esteem (Collins, 2001). It is important to note that the concept of "Level 5 leaders" is derived on the basis of empirical data and not an ideological way. As described by Jim Collins, the level five leadership is as follows (Collins, 2001)

Level 1: Individual capable of making contributions (Knowledge, skills manifested in the activity).

Level 2: At this level, the leaders act as a team member and contribute to the achievement of the group, and know how to work with other. Level 3: The competent manager organizes people and resources to achieve the objectives.

Level 4: The leader catalyzes the commitment and pursues distinct targets.

Level 5: the leader knows paradoxical fusion between humility and is totally committed to the ...